- Seminars and Lectures abroad / ٠01 Masjid At-Taqwa- Morning lectures 1
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- Masjid At-Taqwa- part 1
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of Worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our Master Muhammad, upon his folks and his companions, the trustees of his call and the leaders of his banners, and be pleased with them and us, O Lord of the Worlds. O Allah, lead us out from the depths of darkness and illusion, unto the lights of erudition and knowledge, and from the muddy shallows of lusts unto the heavens of Your Vicinity.
Qualities of Islamic missioners
Dear noble brothers, the noble ayah (A verse in the Qur'an) that the imam (leader in prayer), may Allah reward him, recited during the prayer is:
"Those who convey the Message of Allah"
Those people are du'aat (Islamic missioners) for Allah. They have thousands of qualities, such as being honest, faithful, pious, straight... etc.
"The fear from Allah" is the main qualities
In the previous ayah all these qualities are not mentioned but one:
"Those who convey the Message of Allah and fear Him, and fear none save Allah."
If the da'iyah (the singular of du'aat) fears someone else other than Allah, and so he keeps silent about the truth, because of fear, and he says false things out of flattery, he will not be a da'iyah anymore, and his da'wa (call people to Allah) will end.
"Those who convey the Message of Allah and fear Him, and fear none save Allah."
Scholars of rhetoric marked "This qualities is inevitably related to the described noun, so if it is omitted, the described noun should be omitted." This is applied to the da'iyah who fears other than Allah, so he refuses to speak the truth, and he speaks falsehood out of courtesy. As a result, his da'wah is over. Therefore, the Ummah (the Islamic nation) will shake religiously speaking if the du'aat support injustice and deviation, because they are considered exemplary, the candle of the Ummah, and the ones on which the Ummah pins her hope. When the da'iyah or the scholar adopts an incorrect attitude, this attitude with have grave effects that may make people frustrated. Once, a da'iyah who reached a very high level of knowledge, adopted a wrong attitude, and he caused the end of his da'wa as a whole, the burning of his books and the loss of everything he had. Not to mentioned, he was killed at the end.
"Those who convey the Message of Allah"
I was told about a secular country in the north of Africa, which had been ruled an absolutely unbeliever man for twenty-three years. In that country, a very impressive incident happened: The unbelieving ruler asked the mufti (An Islamic scholar who is an interpreter of Islamic law, entitled to issue fatwa) to deliver a sermon in which he was supposed to say that fasting prevented production.
Therefore, people were not obliged to fast at all. The great scholar agreed to deliver a speech applying to it the instructions of the tyrant ruler.
The media began announcing that the mufti would deliver a very serious speech two weeks before the sermon was delivered.
On the day of delivering the sermon, the mufti ascended the pulpit and said, "O you who believe! Observing As-Saum (the fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqun" [Al-Baqarah: 183]. Accordingly, whoever does not perform fasting, and denies the grace of fasting is a kafir (an infidel!)" Of course, the mufti was killed, but he paid the price; he conveyed the messages of the scholars:
"Those who convey the Message of Allah and fear Him, and fear none save Allah."
The da'wa is a very serious issue, and man should tell the truth whatever the price is.
"Those who convey the Message of Allah and fear Him, and fear none save Allah."
The expression 'fear Him' is sufficient as a mark of the good da'iyah, but for more confirmation Allah says:
"And fear none save Allah."
Actually, each person is charged with a task according to his profession. For example, medicine requires following up the latest research, and some crafts require mastering them,, but the da'wa needs honesty; otherwise, it will be over the minute the da'iyah speaks what contradicts his convictions, and he will be degraded in Allah's Sight and before people. Therefore, the da'wa is one of the actions which can be very crucial and can exalt man to have the mission of the Prophets, peace be upon them, or it can be a silly job that is worth no more than a cynical smile. Hence, the da'iyah should make every effort and scarify the soul and the precious for the sake of achieving the goal of the da'wa. Keep in mind that man should not make da'wah a means of livelihood!
Note
'Imam Shafi'i said wonderful words, "It is better for me to make a living by dancing, than to make it by selling the deen!" Allah, Glorified and Sublime be He, says about this deen:
"And purchased with it some miserable gain!"
Consider the example of a man who uses a check of million dinars to make calculations without knowing its value thinking that it is just a blank piece of paper, and then he tears it apart and throws in the trash! He cannot get another check or a replacement one. He has lost one million dinars in a second. Similarly, whoever purchases with the ayahs of Allah some miserable gain, and who makes a living by the deen loses his deen in seconds. I repeat what Ash-Shafi'i said, "It is better for me to make a living by dancing, than to make it by the deen!"
"Those who convey the Message of Allah and fear Him, and fear none save Allah."
A scholar said nice words, "A scholar, who responds to pressure of a powerful man and speaks to his advantage, is like the ship which is filled by the seawater bit by bit till the sea swallows it as a whole." If the da'iyah accepts to take anything from the powerful man at the expense of religion, the latter will not be considered a da'iyah anymore, and his da'wa will fail.
I never expect to see a scholar's position degraded. In fact this is what really happened to a well-known scholar who used to be very influential in the Islamic world. Because he supported an unjust ruler, his da'wah was over. Your success as a da'iyah does not lie in reaching the highest rank, but rather it lies in staying at that rank. In my view reaching the top rank as a da'iyah is like climbing a rugged road that is full of hills, holes and stones in a hot weather, while falling from that top position is like sliding on a ceramic road with soap on it. This is how the da'iyah falls in a few seconds when he takes a stance that does not please Allah, and when he responds to his desires or to a powerful person. The ayah is very delicate; the da'iyah has thousands of characteristics, but they are not mentioned except one:
"Those who convey the Message of Allah and fear Him, and fear none save Allah."
Of course, people forgive the da'iyah who keeps silent about the oppression of the tyrant, and they make excuses for him, but they never excuse the da'iyah who praises the powerful tyrant people.
Conclusion
Dear brothers, whatever issue that is related to the deen is very serious, because it has to do with the Method of Allah. This is the religion of Allah, so whoever plays with it, whoever directs it according to the interests of powerful people, and whoever explains the ayahs in the way that is against the Will of Allah (AWJ)will be degraded in the Sight of Allah, and the sight of people. It is a thousand times better for you to fall down from the sky to the earth and have your bones and your ribs broken than to lose your position in the Sight of Allah, because if the person is degraded in the Sight of Allah, he is over.
Dear brothers, it is due the Grace of Allah (AWJ) to live in a country that does not consider the piety of man a charge that holds him accountable for it, so it is a great blessing, and we should be grateful to Allah for it. The second positive thing in this country is that it contains many sects, but there are no historical grudges between each two sects that lead them to fight, and the third thing is that when a person commits a mistake he is held accountable for it, but he is not killed immediately.
There are many blessings that we do not pay attention to. For example, when you have a righteous wife, you can leave her alone for a month without any doubt that she may allow a stranger to enter your house while you are absent. This is a great blessing although you are familiar with. The Prophet (SAWS: Salla Allah alayhe wa Salam [All Prayers and Blessings of Allah be upon him].) guided us by saying,
((O Allah, show us Your Blessings through their continuity, not through missing them.))
You must notice such a blessing, either by having it, or by missing it. The righteous wife is a blessing, so the husband should thank Allah (AWJ) for having such a wife, because he will be at peace, which is priceless. How did I know being at peace is priceless? I knew that through my job in da'wa. In Damascus, ten thousand people used to attend my sessions, but only four or five of them doubted their wives. They used to keep boiling from within, they could not sleep well and their main concern was watching over their wives during their absence. Hence, the righteous wife is a great blessing.
One of the greatest blessings is that Allah the Almighty has guided us to His Path, and so we know Him. . Some people worship the fire, other people worship the sea waves, and other people in an Asian country worship rats. This fact was mentioned in an authenticated article in a scientific German magazine. Those people worship rats, but we worship Allah Who has honored us with knowing Him. We worship the Creator of the heavens and the earth, which is the greatest blessing. I have prepared more than two topics to talk about in this session, but when the imam , may Allah reward him, recited this ayah, I was very impressed:
"Those who convey the Message of Allah."
One inclusive quality is mentioned only:
"And fear Him, and fear none save Allah."
If the da'iyah were not entitled to have such a quality, , he would always respond to the oppressing powerful man, and he would please him at the expense of pleasing Allah, and so there would be no da'wah at all.
O Allah! Increase us [in Your Blessings] and do not decrease us, honor us and do not humiliate us, give us [from Your Gifts] and do not deprive us, be in favor of us and not against us, and make us satisfied and be satisfied with us. O Allah send Your Peace and Blessings upon our Master Muhammad, the illiterate Prophet, and upon his family and companions.
